Archbishop Offers Prayers for Latest Accusers

By Haidee V Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
March 2, 2017

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/03/02/archbishop-offers-prayers-latest-accusers/98623790/

Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes offers a final blessing as he concludes a Lenten Mass on Ash Wednesday at the University of Guam field house in Mangilao on March 1. In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Byrnes said he extends his prayers to former altar boys who have filed lawsuits, alleging sexual abuse by the clergy on Guam.

Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes extends his prayers and asks others to do the same for all victims of clergy sexual abuse, including five former altar boys who recently filed multi-million dollar lawsuits against former island priest Louis Brouillard, the Archdiocese of Agana and other unnamed defendants.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Byrnes said he extends his prayers to former altar boys Morgan Wade Paul, Benny T. Manglona, Johnny T. Bascon, Albino T. Bascon and Roque Flores, as well as their families.

Their lawsuits have brought to 23 the total number of childhood sexual abuse cases filed so far in the U.S. District Court of Guam.

The 23 former altar boys, many of them also former Boy Scouts of America scouts, are represented by attorney David Lujan, of the law firm of Lujan and Wolff. More lawsuits are anticipated to be filed in the weeks ahead, attorneys for other survivors said.

Byrnes asked all faithful to also pray for all victims of clergy sexual abuse.

“With every person or persons who come forward to share accounts of being abused by clergy in the Catholic Church on Guam, each of us grieves deeply,” Byrnes said.

Byrnes was appointed by Pope Francis on Oct. 31 to replace Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, should Apuron resign, retire or be removed. Apuron is undergoing a Vatican canonical penal trial and also faces multiple lawsuits in federal court over alleged sexual abuse in the 1970s.

“Sexual abuse of children, no matter when or where it occurred, represents a betrayal of trust and harm of the worst kind; it has a devastating impact on the victim,” Byrnes said. “Each of us in the Church must see to it that the children entrusted to our care are stringently safeguarded from abuse or harm of any kind.”

The Archdiocese of Agana recently adopted the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People." The archdiocese also will implement mandatory background checks of all employees and volunteers and will require mandatory training on sexual abuse prevention and mandatory reporting laws, as well as be subject to audits by an independent party.

The latest former altar boys to file lawsuits alleged Brouillard sexually abused them in the 1970s, including during Boy Scouts activities. Besides being a priest, Brouillard was a scoutmaster in the Guam chapter of the Boy Scouts of America.

Brouillard publicly admitted in 2016 that he sexually abused more than 20 boys when he was on Guam, which was from 1948 to 1981. Brouillard, now 95 years old, lives in Minnesota. He said other priests, and the late Bishop Apollinaris Baumgartner, were aware of his conduct but only asked him to say more prayers as penance.

Contact: heugenio@guampdn.com